Engage 24 mobilizes students for campus evangelism

NEWARK, Del.-Before October last year, Allie Murray had never shared the gospel with anyone. What the University of Delaware senior discovered during an event called Engage 24 was that it wasn’t all that bad.

“I’m not very outgoing so my friend was leading the first few conversations,” said Murray. “I was surprised by how open everyone was. We didn’t just spring the gospel on them. We asked them questions about their background and guided the conversation toward Christ. From that I honestly developed a passion for sharing the gospel.”

The civil engineering major now is also evangelism coordinator for the Baptist Campus Ministry at the University of Delaware.

“I have a heart for lost people because my family are not believers,” said Murray. “When I share the gospel I can feel the Spirit move in me and it gives me boldness and confidence. I know that what I say isn’t always perfect or right so I rely on the Lord to do the work and that makes me more confident.”

Engage 24 in 2012 involved more than 800 college students across more than 100 college and university campuses sharing their faith on Oct. 11. From Simon Fraser University in Vancouver to the University of North Georgia, students were impacted by sharing and hearing the gospel of Jesus Christ.

“Students discovered that not only was sharing their faith not too difficult, but that they’re actually kind of good at it and had a passion for it,” said University of Delaware BCM leader Blake Hardcastle (@IBHardcastle).

Brian Frye (@BriFrye), North American Mission Board national collegiate strategist, said opportunities like Engage 24 provide an evangelistic avenue for students that could change their lives.

“Far too many Christian students go through college without really engaging lost peers with the gospel, and this is a huge missed opportunity in shaping students for future ministry,” said Frye. “Collegians who develop boldness and skill in sharing Christ during college are laying the groundwork for a lifetime of gospel impact and discipleship-in whatever profession or ministry context they end up in post-college.”

Developed in October 2011 by Southern Baptist collegiate ministry leaders to assist the more than 75,000 SBC College students in sharing the gospel, Engage 24 launched in October of last year. Participants shared the gospel hundreds of times, made thousands of contacts and led more than a hundred students to Christ.

The one-day event is designed to help students and leaders build a lifestyle of evangelism on college campuses and beyond. Engage 24, scheduled for Oct. 10 is part of a movement of God that is inspiring more and more Southern Baptist college students to share the gospel throughout North America.

For more information and resources, including Engage, a four-part study guide published by LifeWay Christian Resources, visit engage24.org.

Ethics

MBC Executive Director John Yeats: “We must remain vigilant until every child is safe in his/her mother’s womb. We must also be much more caring for every mother whose life circumstances are so tragic that she would contemplate a medical procedure or abortifacient to end her child’s life.”

Missouri

Several Christian ministries – including Midwestern Baptist Theological Seminary’s “For the Church” (FTC) – will offer events on topics ranging from growing healthy churches to current issues in the Southern Baptist Convention for messengers and others attending the SBC’s June 11-12 annual meeting in Birmingham, Ala.